


Admiration

by themultifandomnerd



Category: Naruto
Genre: Accidental Confession trope, Did i mention SaraHima?, F/F, Naruto and Sasuke's protecitve daddy senses kicking in, Next Generation, SaraHima, encouraging MamaSaku and MamaHina, protective big bro Boruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-11 23:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4457357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themultifandomnerd/pseuds/themultifandomnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was no secret among the next generation that Himawari Uzumaki greatly admired Sarada Uchiha. But for the life her, Sarada never understood why and today, she was determined to find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Admiration -- Sarada

**Author's Note:**

> a little something I whipped up hoping to kick away the writer's block I have. Plus, it's been a while since I last wrote a oneshot. Anyways, I find the idea of SaraHima being cute, so I'm posting it up here as the first one to boost up the shoujo-ai ships in the Naruto fandom.

It was no secret among her mother's friends that Himawari greatly admired Sarada Uchiha.

In fact, it wouldn't be that far from the truth to say that the tiny blunette adored the glasses-wearing girl. She was always with her in some kind of way whenever the two of them had the chance. Surprisingly though, Sarada, herself, wasn't that annoyed by it. She was just a little confused, or rather curious.

The two of them had met officially a long way back, after her father had left for the mission he volunteered to go on. It was through their parents, though that was no surprise since their respective mother and father were teammates. It was pretty much a mini Team 7 get-together. Sarada had chose to sit back, much like Inojin, by her mother instead of running around playing like the Uzumaki siblings. Then not too long afterwards Sarada found herself being pestered with a billion questions by a certain one Himawari Uzumaki.

"Looks like Himawari's latched onto Sarada with a vengeance." Naruto had told Sakura and Hinata with a chuckle.

"It's the Uzumaki curse to always want to befriend an Uchiha, I suppose." Sakura replied with a smile of her own.

Sarada supposed it was true. Sure the several years gap in their ages could be troublesome, first with Sarada becoming an Academy student and then later on becoming a genin while Himawari was a student. But the two of them stuck strongly by one another.

But what Sarada, for the life of her, could never understand, was why.

Why did Himawari like her so much?

The question never came to mind until one sticky afternoon when Team Konohamaru was heading their way back to Konoha after an escort mission to the Land of Wind.

"Ah, I can't wait till we arrive home." Mitsuki said with a yawn. "I want to sleep for two days straight."

Konohamaru nodded in agreement with his student, "I could sleep for a week."

Mitsuki smiled mischievously, "Are you sure that you aren't just excited to get back to Konoha so you can see Hanabi-san?"

"Oh shut up or you're going back to Konoha in a scroll!"

Sarada chuckled at their behaviour. It was no secret among [this] Team 7 about their sensei's interest in Boruto's aunt, Hanabi Hyuga, head of the Hyuga Clan. It was blatantly revealed about a month or so ago back when they hadn't developed much of a rhythm as a team. Konohamaru had been trying to ask Boruto things about what Hanabi liked when the boy realized what the man was trying to do, then he unintentionally announced it for all those on the Team 7 training grounds to hear. After that, Konohamaru couldn't look his students in the eye for about a week until Boruto officially apologized for saying it so loudly- mainly because Sarada and Mitsuki kept shooting him long, scolding looks.

"Don't tease, Konohamaru-sensei too much, Mitsuki." The Uchiha told her white-blue-haired friend. "He just might do it." That was when the girl noticed that her typically loud teammate, Boruto, hadn't said anything in a while. "What's wrong with you?" She asked.

Boruto shot her a sour look, "Nothing." He grumbled.

"Are you still upset about Kaname-sama are you?" She asked.

Kaname was the person they were escorting back home. He was about 17 or 19 from what Sarada was able to guess, and he was a carpenter from Suna. Kaname was handsome, but his personality wasn't that great. Even Konohamaru, though that was after the escort was over, was in agreement that Kaname was a wringer. Much like Boruto, he was quite cocky and prone to bragging, and it caused them to butt heads.

Boruto scoffed, "No way." He replied tersely. "That guy isn't worth my moping time. And I don't mope anyway."

The ravenette raised an eyebrow. "If you say so." She wasn't going to push him to say anything if he didn't want to. "I wonder if Mama's been eating right." Sarada wondered aloud. Her mother could be quite the workaholic and that bothered her endlessly, so it was her personal mission to make sure that Sakura took care of herself.

"I'm sure she's fine." Boruto answered.

"That's not the point." Sarada crossed her arms. "Don't you ever worry about your family?" She worried about her Mama and Papa all the time.

Her blonde teammate snorted and smirked at her. That punch-wanting smirk that annoyed her so much. "Nope! Uzumaki don't need the worrying!"

Mitsuki inserted himself in the conversation with a chuckle and an amused look. "He saves his worrying for Himawari-chan."

 _Ah. Himawari._  That wasn't surprising. "I can see that." Sarada said with a look of curiosity directed towards the sky. "Himawari usually has positive things to say about you, so it wasn't that hard to imagine." Except Boruto being nice. But Himawari was his sister, so she was bound to see things Sarada didn't. Like Boruto being nice.

Boruto groaned loudly, "Ugh!"

"What's wrong with you, geez?" Sarada jumped back, surprised.

"You're always with Himawari!" Boruto snapped. "You already have Chouchou, so do you really need Himawari following you around all the time? She's always going, 'Sara-chan and I sparred today' or 'Did Sara-chan use her super strength? I want her chakra control one day! Shin-sensei says mine will be good like Kaa-chan one day!' She doesn't even admire me anymore!"

Sarada felt a mix of exasperation and flattery. It wasn't her fault that she and Himawari got along well in that sense. Himawari was generally an easy person to get along with. "I'm pretty sure you're over exaggerating, Boruto."

Boruto shoved his hands into his pockets. "No I'm not. Hima is! I don't even get why she likes you that much, after all, isn't your dream to be Hokage?" His blue eyes gleamed. "If you become Hokage all you're going to do is be busy with paperwork and you won't even have time for her anymore."

For once, Sarada didn't have a comeback of some sort to say as Boruto stomped forward to walk beside Konohamaru.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, Sarada." The pale boy said. "He's just being a jealous big brother is all."

Sarada didn't reply, she only nodded and fell deeper into her thoughts.

Why  _did_  Himawari like her so much?

She was a sweet kid, patient and always caring for her brother and she wasn't any kind of upset towards Sarada who typically called him annoying.

In fact, there wasn't really much to admire about herself, Sarada thought. She was no where near the levels of strength her parents were at! Sakura was the proud founder of the Konoha Children's Mental Clinic, former apprentice of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade Senju whom she surpassed. Sasuke was the sporter of one Sharingan and Rinne-Sharingan and perfected many arts Sarada could only hope to do, and that was still with just one arm.

Just from that alone, Sarada knew there was a long way to go before she call herself truly powerful, even if she was an Uchiha (something Chouchou told her a while back).

Himawari on the other hand was plenty outranking, and so was Boruto, Sarada had to admit.

She was the daughter of a Hokage and extremely skilled Byakugan user. Not to mention she was an Uzumaki, so her mortality would be something fierce on missions. Her father had even saved the world twice, her mother greatly helping with the second time. She couldn't say anything about the Uchiha Clan having that, and she was one of the remaining ones in existence.

For the remainder of the trip, Sarada tried to push the subject out her head. But she couldn't.

Was that why Boruto was cross when she finally noticed his odd silence? Probably. She would probably be a little jealous if her sibling always hung out with her rival.

That was it. Sarada made up her mind. She would just ask Himawari herself.

"Great!" Konohamaru's voice brought the Uchiha girl out her thoughts. "The village gates are finally within seeing range!'

Sarada felt an ounce of relief as well as she suddenly remembered her mother. She would have to see her first before stopping by home.

"Sara-chan! Onii-chan!"

At the sound of their names, Boruto and Sarada perked up as they saw a familiar girl with a yellow jacket waving both of her arms excitedly. Sarada noted a side glare from her peripheral vision before Boruto ran ahead. "Hey Hima!"

Mitsuki looked over at Sarada, "He'll come around. Just let him be his usual big brother self for now." His yellow gaze directed to their sensei. "Do we all need to go report to Hokage-sama?"

Konohamaru shook his head, "You all go ahead and just relax, I'll handle the report." And within a flash, the Sarutobi was already dashing ahead to the Hokage office.

"Victory burgers then?" Mitsuki asked, as they got closer to the gates and the two Uzumaki up ahead. The hamburger shop was where there generation often ate at after missions.

"Maybe later." Sarada replied. "I wanna check on Mama first before I do anything. And I also want a nice long bath too."

Mitsuki hummed. "That does sound better. Maybe tomorrow then and maybe Konohamaru-sensei can come too if he isn't trying to woo Hanabi-san."

Sarada giggled at that. Looks like the team wouldn't let that one slide for a while. "Definitely."

"Sara-chan!" Sarada looked ahead to see the familiar blue-haired girl heading her way. "Welcome home!" Himawari hugged her tightly, and feeling a certain someone's burning gaze on her, Sarada hugged her back awkwardly.

"Hi, Himawari."

"No welcome back for me?" Mitsuki asked playfully and it caused Himawari to erupt in giggles as she let go of the Uchiha.

"Hi, Mitsuki-kun." Her smile was reminiscent of the Hokage's. "How was your mission?"

"It was just a C-rank one." Sarada answered. "And the client wasn't the best either." Understatement of the year, but she didn't feel like delving far into it.

Boruto stepped in to prevent to conversation lengthening any further, "C'mon, Himawari. You said today Kaa-chan made apple pie, let's go eat some!"

But his sister pouted and held on to Sarada's arm, "But Sara-chan's back." Himawari had said that with so much conviction it almost sounded like a reasonable answer. "She said when she got back we'd water our garden together."

Oh, that's right. She  _had_  said that. Sarada remembered guiltily. She honestly forgot about that. The two of them actually had a garden. Or to be more correct, it was just a small spot on the Academy grounds they had chosen as a spot to plant cosmos. But they referred to as their garden ever since, and it was off limits to anyone else.

The elder Uzumaki groaned, "Can't you do it tomorrow?" He asked, looking disgruntled.

"How about we do that then?" Sarada looked at the shorter girl. She owed her teammate this much. "The flowers can wait. After all, Boruto kept on talking about you. So we can have our time tomorrow."

Blue stared at black for a few more moments before Himawari relented and let go of Sarada's arms. And with a subdued 'alright' Boruto and Himawari continued on their way to the Uzumaki household. She would just ask the girl about the whole admiration thing tomorrow. Then she bid Mitsuki ado as she walked to the hospital.

Sarada poked at a purple petal tenderly as she remembered how this entire 'secret garden' got started.

It was a couple years back and back when she was still an Academy student, and that day was Relative Day. It was before her reunion with her father, so the only ones who showed up from her family was her mother and her grandparents with their awful comedic duet. When break was upon them, Sarada offered Himawari a tour of the school she one day be attending and during the tour they found a wilting bunch of flowers.

Since then, it became the spot they heightened their green thumbs. Himawari's especially.

"We're working on chakra control in class now." Himawari told Sarada with a small smile.

"That's nice." Sarada said distantly. "Mama says that having good chakra control is key in being a medic-nin."

Cerulean blue eyes glistened curiously, "Do you want to be a medic-nin?"

Sarada shook her head. "Not really." She answered truthfully. "But it might come in handy to know some jutsu and be able to make some healing ointment though."

"My Kaa-chan says that used to make ointment for her teammates all the time." Himawari said. "Maybe I should learn how to make some."

"I'm sure you'll be able to make good ones with how good you are with plants." Sarada complimented the girl.

Himawari looked down at the flowers with a small smile and pink lightly dusting her cheeks. "Aah, then, when I get better at it I'll make Sara-chan ointment for her missions." Her eyes suddenly flashed with a little worry. "If you don't mind that is!"

Sarada felt her heart flutter for a second. "Yeah," she said, sounding strained. "that's fine."

It was silent for a moment.

"Ahem." Sarada cleared her throat. "I'll go and see if there's any fertilizer or plant food we can use." Himawari didn't say anything back, only nodding silently as Sarada stood up and left to find the greenhouse shed.

Sarada had been there many a time with the number of kunoichi based classes she had to take. Plus, Chouchou complained about the unfairness of it so much Sarada wouldn't be able to forget even if she wanted to. (Not that she didn't agree.) Also, with Shino-sensei's permission, they were able to have access to use a little bit of the tools as long as it wasn't detrimental to the continuing classes.

The ravenette sighed as she picked up a plastic baggy and began scooping some plant food into it.

So much for asking Himawari that question. Sarada sighed once more. Her heart fluttered again as she remembered the soft look that Himawari had on earlier. This was a foreign feeling. I guess I'll just try again when I go back. She gazed around at the plants in here. It put the 'garden' she and Himawari took care of look like a bunch of dandelions. Maybe they'd have one like it one day she thought fondly.

Sarada finally exited the greenhouse taking long steps.

She wasn't going to avoid the question anymore. It was time for her to-

"Ne, Akizakura-chan **(1)** , can you keep a secret?"

All of her movements halted when she heard Himawari's voice, and Sarada peeked from behind the tree she was crossing. All she could see was the back of the girl, yellow, blue, and pink all settling with one another nicely. Sarada couldn't see anyone else there, so she reasoned that Himawari was just talking to one of the flowers.

"You see, I really like Sara-chan." Himawari continued. "But I don't think she likes me back. She's really cool though! And really nice too. She always looks after me too and even will hang out with me it looks like Chou-chan wanted to be with her. I wanna hurry up and be a genin too so then maybe we might have missions together like how Kaa-chan and Tou-chan did so I can help her too." She sighed. "Onii-chan's so lucky, he gets to spend all day with her."

Sarada could barely feel the bag of plant food slipping out her fingers as she gasped lightly, sputtering a bit.

Wait.

Himawari liked her?  _Liked_  her liked her?

As in, the way her Mama liked her Papa?

Her sputtering was audible as she saw a blushing, wide-eyed Himawari looking right back at her, causing her own face to heat up.

"Sara-chan?!" Himawari stammered, jumping onto her feet.

Sarada felt overwhelmed, she'd never encountered a situation like this before. "Er, um." Sarada's eyes darted around everywhere but Himawari until she noticed that the girl was opening her mouth again. "I'll see you later okay?!" Then as if she were trying to avoid being caught by an enemy shinobi, Sarada turned around and ran.

"Wait, Sara-chan!"

But Sarada couldn't wait and she continued on running until she got home.

* * *

"Sarada, honey?"

Sarada shoved her face further into her pillow not caring if the frames of her glasses hurt her face. Her heart was still pounding and it was showing no signs of stopping at all anytime soon. She didn't want to see anyone right now as her mind was still racing. Himawari liked her.

It was evening now, and she could smell the sweet and sour smells wafting from the kitchen and under her door. She didn't want to eat though, even if she could feel her stomach growling.

She heard her door creak open. "Sarada."

With a heavy breath, Sarada turned her head to see her mother who flicked on the lights. Her pink hair seemed more vibrant in the new found light. "Yes, Mama?"

Sakura sat on the edge of her daughter's bed with concern reflecting in her jade green eyes. "Your Hinata-oba just called me." A deep feeling spread into Sarada's stomach. "She sounded really worried on the phone. She told me that Himawari-chan came home very upset today saying you didn't like her anymore. Did something happen?

"No."  _Yes._  Sarada avoided Sakura's gaze by cleaning the smudges off her glasses.

She didn't want to talk about it.

Sakura placed a hand on Sarada's shoulder, "You can't lie to me, dear." She said with a light smile. "I can tell when you're upset about something."

"I'm not upset." Sarada said. And it was true, there was no way she was upset in any way right now.

"So did the two of you get into a fight?" Sakura asked, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. "You know, good friend's always fight. Ino and I used to fight all the time, usually it was something really silly. Like boys." The Uchiha matriarch's eyes glazed over as she looked as if she were remembering certain things.

"It's not a boy or anything. And it we didn't fight either."  _It definitely wasn't a boy._

Sakura looked at Sarada expectantly, "Then what was it?"

Sarada looked down at her knees as she put her glasses on. "Then, you promise you won't tell?" She asked. "You can't even tell Papa!"

Sakura nodded, "Yes, dear." She had the hint of an amused look. Kids, her face seemed to say. Them and their needs for promises.

Sarada took a deep breath and balled her hands into tight fists. "Well, you see," she paused feeling her chest fill with anxiety. "Himawari confessed to me." After a moment or two of silence, Sarada looked up to see the silent surprise written all over her mother's face.

"Himawari-chan did?" Sakura asked numbly and Sarada nodded. "That, would be quite the surprise."

"You aren't weirded out?!" Sarada exclaimed, not sure if she was relieved or shocked. It was probably a mix of both.

Sakura ruffled her hair, "I learned over the years that love knows no gender, Sarada." She said with a smile. "I guess you could say I was thinking more about Naruto and Ino."

"Why them?" Sarada questioned, confused. What did the two of them have to do with the situation.

There was a huge grin on Sakura's face, "The two of them have had this bet for years over who would marry you between Inojin and Boruto. Ha! Looks like they were wrong!"  _Well, sort of._  Sakura fixed her statement.

The revelation made her only child gag, "What? Ew, no!" There was no way she would ever do something like! Dating was one thing, then there was marriage. And the thought of marrying either of them was too weird to comprehend. "It's not funny!"

Sakura giggled, "Sorry, Sara. Your papa said the same thing." Sarada was glad that at least Sasuke was on her side. The pinkette sighed as her giggles finally halted and she took a deep breath. "So what did you say to her confession?"

"Well," Sarada moved a stray hair behind her head. "I wasn't supposed to hear it. I went to go get some plant food and when I came back she was telling all that to flower."

_"She's so cool though! And really nice too!"_

Sarada blushed as she remembered what came out of Himawari's mouth. "But she saw me and I ran off before anything else could happen." She felt guilty now. She had gone home upset after all, and now the sweet blue-haired girl assumed the worst out of Sarada's reaction. "Ugh, shannaro! Why did I just run off like that?!"

"Do you like her back?" Sakura inquired and Sarada looked at her mother blankly. "You won't be able to avoid Himawari-chan forever. So do you like her?"

Sarada fumbled with her shorts, "I don't know…" She admitted. "I mean, I always thought she was really cute but, I guess I didn't really start thinking about it until today. How do you know if you like someone, like the way you and Papa like each other."

"That?" Sakura blushed a little. "Well, for one thing, you see a lot of that person's good points. And even if there are flaws, you like all of that person anyway. You also want to support that person no matter what, and if you ever see them going off the wrong track… you want to get them back on the right one." Sakura's eyes darkened as memories came back to her. "It's a very complicated emotion, Sarada. But it is all up to you."

_It's all up to me?_

"How about we go eat dinner?" Sakura stood up. "It's hard thinking when you have an empty stomach."

On cue, Sarada's stomach growled. "Alright." She said.

Dinner was good and like Sakura had said, it actually did serve to make Sarada feel a little better, even if for a little while.

She laid wide awake in her bed as she stared up at her ceiling, even though it was too dark to truly do so.

Did she like Himawari, the way the blunette liked her?

Sarada definitely liked her more than most people. Himawari was gentle, caring, unlike her brother, and she was also a very cheerful girl. She could talk a lot, but Sarada didn't mind because as it would stand, she really liked hearing her voice.

It was sweet, and was light.

And there was also her smile. It was strange. It was a big mix of her Hinata-oba's and the Seventh's, according to her parents, but all Sarada could think of it was just as the 'Himawari smile'. There was no other like it.

Sarada also really liked Himawari's whiskers. They were just cute to her though she had told anyone that.

Himawari.

Sarada was also very fond of Himawari's name. It rolled right off the tongue. It was a happy sounding name as well and a good choice for the girl it was given to. It meant sunflower, and now that Sarada thought of it, Himawari was kind of like one. Always reaching out to make something sunnier rather than gloomier with hair reminiscent of sunrays.

The Uchiha girl's hair sped up again.

She didn't know of anyone else that had that effect on her.

Not even Chouchou, her wise-cracking diva of a best friend. She loved Chouchou to pieces and didn't want to ever imagine a time where they wouldn't be friends, but Sarada was always much quicker to snap at her when the time called for it. And if Chouchou ever made her heart race, it was from laughter, not potentially romantic feelings.

"Himawari Uchiha?"

Sarada blushed and shook her head. It was way too early for things like that! But it still was a nice-sounding name. And admittedly, Sarada Uzumaki had its own appeal as well.

_"Aah, then, when I get better at it I'll make Sara-chan ointment for her missions."_

Sarada wanted the feeling she got when Himawari had said that to always be there. She was very certain of that.

Of liking Himawari Uzumaki.

[;';]

When Sarada saw that it was Boruto Uzumaki who had opened the door, she knew she wasn't in for a warm reception.

His blue eyes shone fiercely as he opened his mouth, "Oh you've got some nerve coming over here after the way Himawari came home yesterday." He looked like he wanted to punch her in the gut.

Sarada tried to get rid of the guilt she was feeling. She was here to fix everything. "I'm here to see Himawari, Boruto."

Boruto snorted at his teammate and was already closing the door shut, until a pale hand intervened and prevented him from doing so. "Hora, Boruto." Hinata Uzumaki looked at her son sternly then blinked in pleasant surprise as she saw who it was. "Ah, Sarada-chan."

Sarada gave a polite bow, "Hello, Hinata-oba." She ignored the burning blue glare that came from Boruto. "Is Himawari home?"

Hinata nodded and she opened the door wider to allow Sarada in, and Sarada removed her shoes. "She's in her room right now." Hinata looked over in the direction of it. "She's still a little upset. Did the two of you have an argument?"

"Not exactly." Sarada answered nervously. It was hard enough telling her mom, but it was a whole new difficulty level if she had to explain this to both her Aunt and her son. "Do you think she'll let me in if you tell her I'm here?"

Hinata smiled thoughtfully, "Just go ahead and walk in. I'm sure she'll cheer up if you walked in unannounced." Her opal eyes were warm. "Go ahead and make up okay? I'll go make something for you all to eat. Boruto, come help me okay?" She had a firm grip on Boruto's shoulders as she lead the two of them to the kitchen. Sarada vaguely heard the word of 'cookies' as she continued on to Himawari's room.

Placing an ear on the door, Sarada listened to see if you could hear any kind of crying but was only met with silence. She gulped, "Himawari, I'm going to come in alright?" She opened the door and Himawari was scrambling in embarrassment.

"I'm still in my pajamas!"

A giggle erupted from Sarada's throat as she walked in further into the embarrassed Uzumaki girl's room. "I've already seen you in those pajamas you know." She closed the door, wanting to take precautions.

Himawari stopped abruptly, "But still…" But she didn't continue on to change her clothing. It was as silent as the forest. "Sara-chan, I-"

"I'm sorry!" Sarada bowed.

"Eh?!"

"I'm sorry for just taking off on you like that." Sarada clarified. "It was really mean to do that. I was just surprised and didn't know what to say."

Another silence.

"So you don't dislike me?" Himawari asked hesitance in her voice. "We can still be friends?"

Sarada stood back up, and repositioned her feet (a nervous habit of hers). "About that…" She felt butterflies in her stomach. "I-"

Himawari cut her off, "Sara-chan doesn't have to say anything else about that." She said. "I'm okay with just being friends." Funny enough, her voice didn't match what she saying, but it wasn't like Sarada was surprised. "At least I got to tell you how I felt though, so that's always nice, even if it was an accident."

Sarada grabbed one of the smaller girl's hands, "Please confess to me again."

"Eeeh?!" Himawari looked shocked.

The ravenette felt her cheeks burn as she repeated herself, "Could you please say it again? Properly? So I can respond properly?"

Was she asking for too much?

She could see Himawari visibly gulp and the girl suddenly looked even smaller in her frog print pajamas. "Ah, um, er…" This was the first time Sarada had seen Himawari this nervous. "Sara-chan, I, I really like you! More than… a friend."

Sarada's heart was racing like the first time she had created a crater in the ground, except this time it wasn't because of the nerve-racking situation of fighting a hundred clones. It was from one, solitary unique person. And that person was "Himawari." Sarada couldn't fight the small smile her lips were forming. "I really like you too, more than a friend."

Himawari blinked once.

Twice.

Thrice.

"Really?" Himawari asked dumbly.

Sarada nodded, "Really, really."

Himawari's arms were wrapped tightly Sarada's waist in a second. "Sara-chan!" She wailed and Sarada panicked thinking she was crying. But relief filled her as Himawari looked up with a smile and dry eyes, the good kind of dry eyes. "I thought you didn't like me anymore!"

"Impossible." Sarada said. "Himawari is someone I greatly admire."

Himawari tilted her head in a cute manner, "Really? Why? Sara-chan is the coolest."

Sarada chuckled and like her mother and father did to her, she lightly tapped Himawari's forehead with her middle and index fingers with a smile. "I'll tell you next time."

* * *

**Bonus:**

Naruto suddenly sneezed knocking all of his paperwork to the ground.

He groaned with a sniffle and shook his head. For some reason he felt the urge ordering the ANBU to supervise every Uchiha in the vicinity. Maybe he was just overreacting to something unimportant in the cosmos.

**XxX**

And elsewhere in an unknown forest, Sasuke suppressed a shudder.

Why did he suddenly feel like rampaging on Naruto's clan? He pulled his phone out his pocket to call his wife, Sakura, immediately. There was something amiss in the cosmos.

 


	2. Mixed Feelings -- Boruto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, Boruto finds out Himawari is on a date.

Boruto Uzumaki had mixed feelings when it came to Sarada Uchiha.

She was a family friend's daughter, she wanted to be Hokage, but ultimately, Boruto could admit he had a grudging respect for her. But if there was one thing he considered unforgivable, was how much his younger sister admired her.

Himawari was Boruto's weakness, his sunshine, and it was his greatest kept secret about how much he cared for her.

He used to actually talk about her all the time back at the Academy. Spreading stories of her first attempt at the shadow clone jutsu, how kind she was, and about her green thumb that seemed to be some kind of genetic trait for all of the Uzumaki family to have. But his 'unnatural' love for his sister resulted in him being teased, so he began to speak less about her and more about himself.

But he never loved Himawari any less than how much he did before his bragging.

Then entered Sarada.

When they first met, Boruto didn't have much of an opinion on her. She seemed kind of dull. She didn't want to play and rejected his offer of playing ninja. Inojin had said no too, but it didn't matter because trust, his baby sister didn't let him down…. Until he noticed that she was no longer playing with her fake kunai and was now conversing with Sarada. Sort of, from what he could tell, Sarada just sat there and listened.

That was strike one.

After that, Himawari was all about Sarada like a girl going through some boy band phase, like Chouchou.

"Sara-chan let me borrow her book today!" A young Himawari said one day at the dinner table, before his father became Hokage. A bright smile was on her face and her blue eyes were bright as the sky.

Boruto looked offended, "Since when did you start calling her 'Sara-chan'?"

Naruto and Hinata smiled though and only cheered Himawari on, happy their only daughter had made a friend.

That was strike two.

Now the Uchiha girl was finding some kind of way to worm her way into dinnertime discussions.

Dinner was time for the Uzumaki family, and the Uzumaki family only. So hearing her come up only made it worse.

The only thing that actually redeemed Sarada in any kind of way was back when she offered to deliver the lunch to his dad. The one his mother made specifically him, yet he had left Konoha without it anyway. Yes, he had taken his dear time delivering it, but it was a test! And Naruto failed it greatly, regardless of Shikamaru-oji's "Time is a foreign concept to you, isn't it?"

But as luck(?) would have it, Sarada and Chouchou were at the village gates ready to go on their own trip and Sarada offered to deliver it. He was apprehensive at first, but Boruto allowed it and he was able to go home and tell his mother Naruto got the lunch.

So Sarada wasn't that bad, even with her goal of becoming Hokage. After all, Hokage were always too busy to hang with their family and friends right? So that only meant she would have less time with Himawari.

Yet when he told his sister of Sarada's plan, Himawari only smiled back at him and said, "Then maybe I can be what Shikamaru-ojichan is to Tou-chan when she does become Hokage."

And that made strike three.

Sarada Uchiha was officially on his 'I Think You're Strong But Don't Count On Us Being Anything More Than Acquaintances' List.

It was strange for him.

Being close in age, Boruto and Himawari were very close to one another. It was one of the few things that kept him feeling more sane in the house after his father became Hokage and too busy to properly spend time with them. She was someone he could tell secrets to without being scared of her telling them to someone and she always depended on him.

_"Wait for me, Onii-chan!"_  She would say.

But now it was "Sara-chan!"

Sara-chan she wanted be with more.

Sara-chan she wanted to garden with.

He could stand it!

And that only became worse after the two of them ended up becoming teammates under the tutelage of Konohamaru Sarutobi, his dad's unofficial 'rival' and 'apprentice' in some kind of jutsu.

Himawari was just completely happy at the thought of it.

Which was why, that one hot afternoon after they got done escorting some prick of a carpenter back to Wind Country, he was less than pleased to return home. He even lashed out on Sarada. But, in the end, he was the one who got the rest of the day with Himawari after they got home though he felt a little guilty. Not for snapping at Sarada, but because of how Himawari looked disappointed.

Maybe his mother was right. Himawari just wanted a couple of girl friends to chat to, and since Hinata was so close to his Sakura-oba, it was only natural Himawari would go to Sarada. It was better than Chouchou at least. He got along with the sassy girl, but heaven forbid Himawari came home singing songs by that one boy band called 'One Shu-rection' (an insult to every shuriken he owned in his opinion).

So he didn't make much of a fuss when Himawari left to go meet up with Sarada to take care of their 'secret garden'. He decided that from that moment on, he wouldn't make such a big deal when Sarada was who Himawari wanted to hang out with.

But that resolve flew straight out the window when Himawari had came home wailing about how Sarada didn't like her anymore.

Strike four.

If his mom hadn't calmed him down and called Sarada's home, Boruto was sure that he would've tried to Demon Windmill her house, even at the expense of pissing off his extremely strong aunt. But in the end, the blonde set aside his anger for comforting his sister. She hadn't told him much of anything, only that she was sure Sarada never wanted to talk to her again.

Boruto swore vengeance from that point on.

The next time he saw hint of the qipao wearing Uchiha, he was taking her down.

In fact, he was getting ready to when fate made things easier for him and brought Sarada right to his doorsteps. First step, was shutting her out. But his Hinata had intervened with a smile and a 'go ahead' welcome and forced Boruto to help make snacks for all of them.

And wah-lah, poof. History.

Boruto was left with a grudge he could never complete and Sarada and Himawari were friends again.

At least, that what he thought.

He found out everything on a Sunday.

Boruto had spent the night at his friend Shikadai's house, and it was the perfect day to come back home. He didn't have a mission, and Himawari was free with no school. He left Shikadai's rather early. As much as he loved Temari's cooking, nothing beat Hinata's chocolate chip pancakes on a Sunday morning. Uzumaki Sunday's, everyone slept in, life not kicking until about nine in the morning.

Plus, Sunday was family time, even if Naruto wasn't always included now.

Irregardless, Sunday was when the Uzumaki family tended the Uzumaki family garden with one another.

He loved the garden, another one of his well-kept secrets from all but family, Ino, and Inojin. It was radiant to him, full of flowers and plants from various seasons.

Spring was fully pansies, crocuses, and acoma irises.

Summers were full of asters, gaura, and dahlias.

Fall brought echinaceas, cosmos, and his personal favourites, camellias.

And winter brought daisies, snapdragons, and other fronds.

And that was only going on about the flowers, excluding the leafy plants that brought was shade and herbal poultices and ointments.

Boruto just loved it and he was always excited to tend to them. Sometimes, it was especially nice because there were occasions where butterflies would stop by. But the boy was met with quite a shock when he opened his front door to get with the hit of coffee and no chocolate-filled pancakes in the air.

Hinata blinked in surprise, "Oh, Boruto, I didn't know you were coming back so early." Her surprised expression morphed into a small smile. "Did you have fun at Shikadai-kun?"

"Yeah…" Boruto answered vaguely, slipping off his sandals and looking around the house with a very confused face. "What's going on?"

"I didn't think anyone would be home anytime soon so I didn't make any breakfast." She stood up, setting her coffee down next to a book. "Are you hungry?"

Boruto only waved in dismissal at her offer, "I can just eat some cereal." The house felt a lot emptier as he made his way to one of the cabinets. "Is Himawari still asleep or something?" Normally, breakfast would be a go right now and Himawari would be helping, singing songs that they'd heard in movies. So it was strange, not seeing it for once.

"Oh, Himawari left home not too long ago." Hinata answered, sitting back down and opening her book back to the page she was on. "She's actually on a date."

Boruto dropped the box of Frankenberries faster than a person using the Flying Thunder God Technique, the whites of his eyes showing, "What?" He asked, his brain not registering what his mother just said. "SHE'S ON A WHAT?!" He whipped around fast, blinking rapidly. "YOU AND TOU-CHAN ALLOWED HER TO GO ON A DATE?!"

Hinata sweatdropped at her son's reaction. "I did, honey." she started. "Everyone goes on dates. Is it really that bad?"

An inhuman gasp-screech exited Boruto's throat as he looked at his mother, blue eyes filled with shock and betrayal.

Did his mother really not see the problem here?

Some guy was out there trying to put the moves on his baby sister, and it wasn't 'really that bad'?! Boruto darted to the door. "I'll be back later!" This was a rescue mission.

"Wait, Boruto-" Hinata stopped as Boruto was already gone, door swinging widely, and she sighed. Maybe should've just said Himawari was at a friend's house.

~x~

Boruto was furious.

Who on earth was out there thinking that they could go on a date with his sister? Was it Shikadai?! Boruto shook his head and refocused his concentration as he hopped to another rooftop.

There wasn't a chance. He was just at the guy's house and Boruto doubted that Shikadai even had the motivation to try one-upping his friend.

Mitsuki wasn't likely either. For his friend already knew Himawari was way off limits. More off limits than knowing the name of the guy's parent.

Lee [Metal Lee]? Boruto doubted it. Lee was too much of a trainaholic to focus on anyone. Well, there was this was this one time he suspected him of having a crush on his Sakura-oba, but that was a mystery for another time in his file of 'Relatives Of Mine That Are Off Limits' women that were important to him.

So that only left...

Boruto's eyes narrowed.  _Inojin. That sly son of a jackal's uncle!_  Someone in the village was going to die tonight.

He didn't care if he hated his title as 'The Son of the Seventh'. This was going to be one of the very few times he'd ever use that title to an advantage. Did being the Hokage's son mean that he could possibly hire ANBU to kill of Himawari's boyfriends? Probably not, but Boruto was pretty sure he'd be able to  _possibly_  be able to convince his dad.

Boruto finally jumped onto the ground, head moving side to side as he scoped out the area for a potential blond boy and blue-haired girl. Inojin was going down like a four-set pair of socks. Boruto cracked his knuckles.

And that's when he heard it.

The sweet laugh of his precious little sister. It made Boruto feel an irk of irritation.

So Inojin had jokes to tell? Boruto stomped forward, not apologizing to anyone he might've bumped into. "HEY, INOJIN!" All that mattered was getting Himawari as far from… Boruto skidded to a halt. "... Sarada?"

He blinked in confusion.

Inojin was no where in sight.

"Onii-chan?" Himawari tilted her head at her brother in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Boruto didn't answer her. He was too busy looking at the conjoined hands in the space between the two girls.  _What the…_

Sarada spoke up this time, sounding a little annoyed. "Boruto, did you need something?" She used her free hand to push up her glasses. "Inojin lives on the other side of the village."

The blond shook his head and snapped out of his stupor. "I heard that Himawari was on a date and kinda assumed it was Inojin." _Did Kaa-chan mean playdate, geez! Why she have to go and give me a heartattack?_  "But I guess I just misheard Kaa-chan when she said that."

Himawari shook her head, "No she was right." The girl said. "I am on a date."

"But this is Sarada…" Boruto replied, still not sure what was going on.

"She's on a date with me, dummy." Sarada sighed and Himawari giggled. "Usually you're more sharper than this."

Boruto blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

"WAIT WHAT?!" Boruto screeched, catching the eyes of some civilians.

Sarada nodded. "So could you go now please?" She said hurriedly, but still with some politeness. "A date is usually between two people."

"Wait wait wait." Boruto wasn't going to let anything slide until he completely solved everything. "You two? A thing?"

Himawari nodded this time and she avoided her brother's gaze. "Is it weird if I like a girl?" Boruto felt guilty. One thing that really made him upset, was when his mother or sister were upset, and he just personally made the latter upset.

But it wasn't something that he could just half-heartedly answer. It wasn't uncommon for there to be same-sex couples. He didn't see anything wrong with it either, after all, to him seeing a couple smooch and talking lovey-dovey to one another was weird and annoying regardless of the genders involved. Especially when there were parents involved, particularly, his parents.

And pretty soon, that was going to be Himawari.

"Well, no, I don't care about that." Boruto answered truthfully. "But does it have to be my rival?" He gestured grandly at the red-clad kunoichi who rolled her eyes. "It's bad enough you always talk about her but now I have to deal with joining the family?!"

Sarada raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Himawari isn't going to be the one getting the name change." Boruto replied, 'duh' oozing in his tone.

"Don't you think you're moving way too far into the future for that?!" Sarada exclaimed, a blush on her face. It was creepy. Boruto never thought he'd see an expression like that on her face. More so in the fact it was caused by his sister.

The aforementioned girl held her free hand defensively, "Onii-chan…"

Boruto crossed his arms. "Oh all right." He spat out, miffed. "I approve. But the moment she comes back home upset again we're going toe-to-toe you hear me Uchiha!"

Sarada smirked that famous Uchiha smirk, "Of course not."

"Now where are you taking my sister?"

"Onii-chan!"

Sure he had to share his sister now, but maybe it wouldn't be all bad.

**XxX**

**Bonus:**

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes met directly as they both panted. They had just encountered one another in a fork of a road in Konoha.

Sasuke spoke first, "You're daughter on a date too?"

Naruto nodded.

_Fatherhood when you had daughters was tougher than it look._


	3. Insecurities -- Himawari

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Himawari feels insecure

When Himawari Uzumaki was told by her mother that Sarada Uchiha would be spending the night for the week she was ecstatic.

Her Aunt Sakura would be out of Konoha for a while on a medical adventure of some sort, and top of the list for people to take care of Sarada, was of course, the Uzumakis.

Himawari kicked her feet happily, "This is great!"

Hinata Uzumaki smiled at her daughter, "I'm sure you're excited."

Himawari nodded.

She and Sarada were now a couple, sort of. The two of them hadn't really given their relationship a title yet, and overbearing fathers and shyness hadn't really helped. They were content though and whenever girlfriend accusations came out, none of them denied anything. Himawari didn't mind though. They were slowly becoming more comfortable with one another in a new sense, and it was going well.

"Fine," Boruto, her brother, crossed his arms. "Just keep all your mushy couple stuff to yourself." He was still a little miffed, but he was otherwise fine with Himawari and Sarada's relationship.

"Onii-chan." Himawari said pointedly and Hinata giggled.

"Sakura-chan said she'll be over soon with Sarada-chan so when she gets here, why don't we see what she wants for dinner?" Hinata asked.

Himawari nodded easily. This was always the perfect chance to find out Sarada's favourite dishes. Boruto only shrugged.

Hinata nodded as well. "Alright. Himawari, do you want to set up Sarada-chan's futon?" She stood up and went to the hallway closet which held a lot of their blankets and clothes.

It didn't take long for Himawari to be by her mother's side. She was excited.

Slumber parties were something Himawari was used to… when it was boys. Typically, it was Boruto's friends that came over for sleepovers. As, this was a big house and it had become a joint agreement of the boys of their generation that Hinata's snacks were delicious, especially during winter. So when sleepovers specifically for Himawari happened, it was usually at someone else's home and she didn't get that chance often after the older kids joined the Academy. Now they were ninjas and she was a student, so there wasn't much winning there.

Himawari went into her room.

It was very neat and Himawari was glad it looked especially clean on this day.

She set the futon up crisply, and patted out any creases.

Himawari smiled proudly. Sarada would definitely be comfortable. "Kaa-chan," she called out as she exited her room. "Is Tou-chan going to be here for dinner?" She saw Boruto look up from the corner of her eye.

Hinata gave her children a sad smile, "He said he'll try to make it if he can get the paperwork finished."

The answer made Boruto scowl and look down at his knees and Himawari felt sadness swarm her. But the tiny girl shook her head. She couldn't be sad right now. "Don't worry, Onii-chan." Cerulean met cerulean. "Maybe Tou-chan will be here and surprise us!" She smiled widely and felt relieved when she saw a smaller smile directed at her.

"Yeah, maybe." Boruto said softly and a silence fell over the living room.

Himawari fumbled with her skirt, "I'll go and see if Sara-chan and Sakura-obachan is nearby." She walked at a quick pace to the door, creaking open halfway and glanced around. They lived in a more rustic part of Konoha where the buildings, for the most part, were still reminiscent of the buildings when her parents were her age. Yet it was more of an easy spot off for the Uzumaki household as the many plants on the porch were a dead give away.

Himawari loved it.

But Himawari found herself loving the fact she could see bright pink hair in her line of vision and she waved. "Kaa-chan! They're here!"

A warm presence was behind her and she knew it was Hinata who was already greeting her good friend. "Hello, Sakura-chan!" Hinata said, walking to meet the approaching Uchihas. Himawari followed in tow after grabbing her brother. It wouldn't be fair if only she and Hinata saw Sakura off.

Sakura grinned at the mother of two, "Thanks again for agreeing to take care of Sarada."

"Oh, it's really no trouble." Hinata shook her head. "She's a dear to have around. Right, Himawari?"

Himawari felt her cheeks flushed but she nodded as she and Sarada met each other's gaze. "You have a futon in my room, Sara-chan." She said.

"Thanks." Sarada smiled. "Even if it's for a few days, I'll try not to get in your way, Hinata-san."

Hinata giggled, "You don't need to stop calling me Oba-san since Naruto-kun is Hokage, you know." She missed the days of when Sarada called her that, and she encouraged often. But Sarada was Sakura's daughter all right, and it the ravenette was a fairly stubborn person. "So, Sakura-chan, where are you going again?"

Sakura sighed, "I'm going down to Iwa." That was going to be quite a ways. "Kurotsuchi-san's grandfather, Onoki-san, is having some trouble with his ailments. So Shi-san asked me to come help him out there." She laid a hand on Sarada's shoulder. "I'll be back in a week, okay."

Sarada nodded, "I'll be fine."

Himawari struggled to fight back a smile and it was apparent as Sakura's jade eyes looked straight at her with a knowing look and a teasing smile was on her lips. "And I'm counting on you to keep Sarada under wraps, alright Himawari-chan. She can be a little reckless when she wants to be."

The youngest member in the group of conversing people nodded, "Hai!"

Boruto groaned and Sakura and Hinata snickered. "And please try not to rile her up so much 'kay, Boruto?" Sakura ruffled the boy's hair and Boruto backed away.

"Sakura-oba you're messing up my hair!" He pouted the trademark pout he inherited from his father. "Geez."

"Oh you Uzumaki men and your hair." Sakura snorted with good humour. "Well, I should head to the gates now and hurry on up to Iwa." The pinkette took a deep breathe and then she hugged Sarada tightly. "I'll be back soon."

Sarada smiled and hugged her mother back, "Take care, Mama."

Then with a few more goodbyes, Sakura ran off into the direction of the Konoha entrance and they all stood watching until she became nothing more than a pink and red speck. "Yosh," Hinata clapped her hands together. "Why don't we all head inside and let Sarada-chan get settled in. Is there anything you want in particular?"

"Oh, I don't mind eating anything you want." Sarada said nervously and Himawari took the hand closest to her in a comforting manner.

"Then can we have hamburger steak?!" Boruto grinned. "Since Sarada doesn't care?"

Himawari looked at her brother crossly, "It's Sara-chan's turn to pick dinner, Onii-chan." This was her chance to learn more about her discreetly. "We don't mind what you pick at all." She smiled, hoping it looked like the smile Hinata would give Naruto when he was feeling down in the dumps.

Though she still looked uncertain, Sarada lifted a hand to her chin a thoughtful way. "Then… is Katsudon okay?"

Hinata nodded and smiled, "Katsudon would be delicious." When they re-entered the house the Uzumaki matriarch loosened the reins. "I'll start cooking now, so you all can just relax for now since I've already taken care of the plants." It didn't take long for Boruto to run off to room to play video games.

But he suddenly popped his head through the door and glared at his teammate, "No kissy business alright."

Sarada choked, "Shut up!"

Himawari felt embarrassed and hurriedly pulled Sarada into her room.

Did her brother really have to be so protective? The blunette sighed. "You can just set your bags down by my dresser." She sat on her bed as she watched Sarada set her things down and they just sat and chatted about random subjects. Then Himawari remember her mother's earlier comment about the plants in the house were already taken care of.

Their cosmos blooms were flourishing. "Maybe we can visit our garden soon. Should we add anything else?" They hadn't really added anything else since their dedication to keeping the flowers already there in a good condition.

Sarada spun around in Himawari's desk chair, "Is there any kind of flower you like in particular that you want to grow?"

Himawari kicked her dangling feet and hummed. "Tulips sound nice."

"We can always see if the Yamanaka Shop has any seeds, when we get the choice."

"Oh, tulips actually grow from bulbs." Himawari corrected. "And tulips are really nice since they can survive harsh winters and still bloom in the spring."

There was a soft smile on Sarada's face as she saw the bright look on Himawari's face. "You look really cute."

Himawari blinked. "Eh?"

Sarada smiled, "You always have a certain look about you when you talk about things you really like." She elaborated. "I think it's a really cute trait you have."

_"I'll tell you next time."_

Himawari felt flutters in her stomach and she reached up to touch her forehead.

She hadn't ever experienced anything like that before, the forehead poke that is. That was the first time Sarada had ever done that before, and it felt… strange. But it was a good strange. "Ne, Sara-chan…" Himawari looked down at the hand still in her lap. "Are you going to tell me about… why you admire me?"

She still hadn't gotten a straight answer from her, and they'd been dating for a month.

Himawari didn't honestly see as to why Sarada found her to be an admirable person when you saw the entire current Uchiha Family Tree.

Her Sakura-oba was amazing with her chakra control and her knowledge took the medical world by a storm! Sakura also was amazingly strong, easily making craters in the ground and effortlessly beating her father, Naruto, in arm wrestling (and Himawari thought that would be impossible)! And while Himawari didn't personally know Sarada's father, her own father had told her plenty of stories about him and their friendship.

Then there was her own family.

Her father was the Seventh Hokage and he saved the world, more than once. He even had a fake arm, showing the hardships he'd probably went through. And her mother, was also just as amazing with her Gentle Fist and admirable kindness that earned her many friends. Then her brother, who was also Sarada's classmate and teammate, was a prodigy.

And that finally left her, and she was still wondering the footsteps to take as she was still in the Academy.

There was nothing outstanding about her, in comparison to her own family, Sarada's family, and Sarada herself.

Himawari let her insecurities show. "The only thing I have that's close to outstanding is my hair and my classmates think it's weird." It was a weird mix of her parents' hair. It wasn't just straight or spiky, but flared out. Her parents said it was cute and beautiful, and she did at first until she came to the Academy where she saw much more beautiful girls. Hinata tried comforting her, saying she looked more like her father and that meant she was just as, if not more beautiful than those girls.

But her mother was gorgeous, and it just made her feel… doubtful.

"Himawa-"

"Kids!" Hinata's voice cut through the door, though it was muffled. "Dinner's ready! Make sure you wash your hands!"

Himawari quietly made her way to the door, "Let's just go eat." She said, forcing a smile on her face. "Maybe Kaa-chan might have tulip bulbs we can use."

If Sarada was going to say anything, Himawari didn't give her a chance to say it as she was already in the living room.

Dinner went as usual with conversations of school, grades, training, and missions. Himawari didn't say much though. Now she felt bad. Her mother always told her that what was key was 'confidence' and to only be yourself. But she was failing at that, namely confidence. Why couldn't she be more like her parents and be mature?

After dinner came ice cream, and that did slightly cheer Himawari up, especially with it being Rocky Road, her favourite flavour.

But then bedtime rolled around, and that only seem to add on to the tension as Himawari changed into her frog-print pajamas. Was it always going to be like this between them? Himawari somehow managing to make the air between them awkward? (Granted this was the second time, but being overdramatic was normal!)

"Good night..." Himawari said as she flicked off the light and carefully made her way to her bed.

It felt oddly cold despite the warm evening.

Himawari curled into a tighter ball and sighed. Maybe the tension would pass by morning and Sarada will have forgotten everything. Then Himawari heard the sound of covers moving and she turned around to see an outline of Sarada's head. "Sara-chan?"

"You know, Himawari," Sarada started off, her forearms resting on Himawari's bed. "I really like your hair, your classmates are weird for not thinking the same."

Himawari sat up, "Huh?"

She could see Sarada's silhouette nod, "I like the way it kinda looks like a sunflower stretching out its petals towards the sun or maybe it's the sunrays." Sarada continued on. "It's really pretty and I used to be jealous of it because mine is just straight and black, I still am a little jealous actually. And you're really nice to people even if they don't actually deserve it; I'm not really good at that. And your 'Himawari Smile' is super nice too."

Himawari's heart was beating like a drum.

"So don't say that there's nothing about yourself that's admirable because… I think that's a lot more admirable that my 'coolness'." Sarada grabbed one of Himawari's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Even if people think being aloof is super cool, kindness always wins in the long run so I'm gonna have to work twice as hard if I don't want some jerk stealing you away from me."

A giggle slipped out of Himawari's throat even though she didn't want it to. Her cheeks felt warm. "No one could ever make me like them more than how much I like you, y'know." Himawari squeezed back.

"Even I can feel insecure from time to time you know." Sarada rebutted with a laugh of her own.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Akizakura is the japanese word for 'Autumn Cherry(blossom)', a nickname to refer to the cosmos flower as it is considered the most beautiful flower during the fall.


End file.
